What Dentists Must Know Before Spending Another Marketing Dollar

Naomi CooperJune 9, 2014

Some dentists think of marketing as though it is a magical faucet. They believe they should be able to implement a new tactic, snap their fingers and get magically get 100 new patients through the front door. The truth is that marketing is a real faucet, and the laws of physics apply in that you have to exert a force upon the faucet to start the flow. Three forces in particular will turn on the new patient flow, and they are three of your most valuable and limited resources: time, money & energy.

Before spending your precious time, money and energy on generating new patient flow through new external marketing campaigns, take a look at your existing new patient flow. What happens to the prospective new patients who are already coming out of the proverbial marketing faucet by contacting the office by phone or email? Do you have a nice solid bucket under that faucet catching every drop? Or does it look more like a sieve, resulting in missed opportunities to capture new patients?

If there are missed opportunities, then you have what I like to call holes in the bucket. These are issues such as:

Scheduling issues, such as new patients not typically scheduled within 1-3 business days

Not knowing how many prospective new patient callers you already get each month

Front desk turning away new patients because of insurance or cost concerns

A lack of comprehensive treatment planning and case presentation skills

The hygienist not co-diagnosing

The patient coordinator failing to schedule recommended treatment

Lack of existing patient follow-up for both recall and reactivation

Maybe you are already getting enough new patient calls, but you have challenges that are preventing you from turning your new patients into patients of record. If any of the above is the case, you may not need to spend as much time, money and energy on external marketing as you think – rather, work on correcting these outstanding issues and get solid internal processes in place so that when you are ready to turn on the new patient flow faucet, you’ll be ready to catch every last drop.

What Dentists Must Know Before Spending Another Marketing Dollar was last modified: March 28th, 2016 by Naomi Cooper

Naomi is a published author, a sought-after speaker and a dental industry opinion leader.
Naomi advises dental manufacturers, associations and service providers, offering strategic and ongoing marketing implementation services, generating budgets and timelines, facilitating vendor introductions and creating a system of ongoing marketing accountability. She also serves as Chief Marketing Consultant for Pride Institute, which for the past thirty-five years has been considered one of the leading practice management consulting firms in the dental profession.

While marketing can be a foreign topic to many dentists, Naomi really breaks it down, showing how it can be fun and easy to implement in the dental practice. You’ll come away with lots of fresh ideas, concrete action items and a whole new marketing vocabulary!

Howard Farran, DDS, MBAFounder/PublisherDentalTown Magazine

It’s rare to find marketing executives like Naomi that do real, rigorous work for their clients and put their clients’ interests at the forefront of their engagement. Even more rare is someone who does it with such integrity and personal warmth.

John SchwartzVice President and General ManagerUBM

With respect to innovative marketing approaches, Naomi is at the forefront. From megabrand management to project based work Naomi is extremely comfortable and incredibly passionate. Within the professional dental arena, Naomi is both a fixture and an icon.

Howard KleinPresident/OwnerLanmark360

I truly enjoy my working relationship with Naomi. I find her to be dependable, intelligent, and pleasant…my time with her is very well spent, as she tailors her approach to my specific needs masterfully. I highly recommend Naomi to anyone who wants to have a focused approach to his or her business marketing.